Environmentalists sue to keep momentum on nitrate pollution solutions

ST. PAUL – Wary of a new federal administration that seeks more environmental deregulation, several groups are suing the state Agriculture Department and Pollution Control Agency to ensure progress in cleaning up nitrate pollution in southeast Minnesota.

The lawsuit, headed by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), seeks to get state courts involved in enforcing updates to Minnesota’s nitrate standards across the board. They also want to reopen the process behind some of the rules for commercial manure and fertilizer application and get more public feedback.

“We recognize that there’s been some progress under the [state’s] work plan, but we want to make sure that momentum continues,” said Carly Griffith, the MCEA’s water program director.

Minnesota promised the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December 2023 that it would act quickly to help residents in southeast Minnesota with dangerous levels of nitrate in their wells after the EPA urged the state to take action to protect people with polluted water.

Last spring, state officials worked to provide water to southeast Minnesota residents with polluted wells who were pregnant or had infants. Lawmakers directed $16 million in 2024 toward well testing, inventorying wells in the region and cleaning up wells polluted with farm runoff, among other issues.

Cherie Hales of the Winona County Clean Water Coalition said Tuesday that well owners in the area felt the state’s initial response was slow and that there haven’t been enough resources or information to get more wells tested and fixed.

“We have just been trying to educate people,” she said. “There are some mediations, but they’re limited. The need is greater than what’s provided.”

Agriculture and pollution control officials proposed a new set of rules for feedlots last summer and finalized the permit process earlier this month. The new permitting goes into effect in June.

State officials have promised to work with environmental groups and farmers to cut down on nitrate runoff while increasing production with new farming practices. That could include more cover crops, extended crop rotations or fine-tuning nitrogen and fertilizer rates with farmers in the region.

Environmental groups say they’re wary of Minnesota’s commitment to changing its nitrate standards, arguing agencies have dragged their feet in the past in updating their policies to protect private well owners from pollution. They’re concerned a new federal administration under President Donald Trump, who has promised to roll back environmental protections in a variety of ways, will ease pressure on state government and stall efforts to reduce nitrates in the state’s groundwater.

“We do not think we can rely on the EPA to continue pushing our state agencies to impose stricter regulations,” MCEA’s lead attorney Joy Anderson said.

In a joint statement, MPCA and agriculture officials said Tuesday the recently completed updates to Minnesota’s feedlot permitting included feedback from the public and a variety of stakeholders.

“As we pivot toward updating the feedlot rules, the state is committed to an equally robust, inclusive and transparent process,” the officials said. “The updated feedlot permit walks the line of protecting the environment and supporting farmers in the state.”

Though the agencies declined to comment on the lawsuit, officials said they “believe the permit and rulemaking are legally sound.”

The lawsuit is the latest chapter in a longstanding dispute between environmental advocates, farmers and state officials over nitrates in the groundwater.

Minnesota officials have measured nitrate water pollution since 1990. Nitrate levels largely have risen across the state since then. Although cities and towns have wastewater treatment plants to address pollutants, private wells aren’t regulated, and owners have to treat water on their own.

Nitrate pollution stems from large-scale agriculture manure and fertilizer. About 90% of the nitrate in southeast Minnesota’s water comes from fertilizers spread on croplands, a state study found in 2013.

Environmental groups in southeast Minnesota petitioned the EPA in 2023 to force the state to address the nitrate pollution. The EPA sent a letter to state officials later that year urging them to update their policies and clean up the southeast area, which largely consists of porous land filled with sinkholes that allow runoff from fields to end up in groundwater.

Jeff Broberg, a St. Charles resident and head of the Minnesota Well Owners Organization, warned it could cost taxpayers millions of dollars if the state doesn’t move more quickly to fix the nitrate pollution in the ground. Newer research links adverse health effects to drinking water with even lower levels of nitrate than the current 10-milligram standard, including colorectal cancer, thyroid disease and neural tube defects.

“We have six towns now that are looking at the need to [build water treatment plants],” Broberg said. “The little town of Altura, if they have to treat their water, it’s going to be at least $3 million.”

The Minnesota Well Owners Organization, along with Minnesota Trout Unlimited, is joining the MCEA in its lawsuit.